Vernon sewer panel to consider break for VFW

VERNON — In a rare exception, the township Municipal Utilities Authority tonight will consider authorizing a two-year “connection deferral” to the local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter.

Members of Wallkill Valley Memorial Post 8441 cited the hefty sewer hookup cost in raising the possibility of selling their longtime building last spring.

Under a resolution on the meeting agenda, the VFW chapter would have until July 1 to pay the $20,992 connection fee, MUA Executive Director John Scerbo said.

Hookups to the 1,750-customer sewer system became mandatory in July 2013.

Separately, Mountain Creek is agreeing to pick up the VFW's unpaid user fees, which are due quarterly even in the absence of a sewer connection.

Scerbo said the fees to the VFW, through year's end, will total $5,090.

Mountain Creek Resort President Bill Benneyan said, “We felt it would be appropriate to do what we could to help them get on their feet.”

“Certainly anyone who's served our country deserves our respect. We take that to heart,” Benneyan said.

Tonight's meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the municipal building.

Great Gorge Village resident Len Coloccia, the plaintiff in an unrelated lawsuit against the MUA, said Wednesday that he opposes the proposed deferral for the VFW.

“I don't think a waiver should be granted to the VFW. If you're not going to grant a waiver to the churches — well, the churches do a lot of community good, and they were forced to pay,” Coloccia said.

“You can't play favorites here. That's not their (the MUA's) job,” Coloccia said.

Scerbo said that the MUA would try to accommodate any customer who is having a difficulty in paying, not just the VFW.

“If we had an individual property owner who came here, who was supposed to connect and could not because of a financial difficulty, we would've entertained a discussion,” Scerbo said, adding that only a “small handful” of the 150 or so new sewer customers remain unconnected to the system.

“We're not out to send anybody to the poorhouse,” Scerbo said.

Vernon established the MUA in May 2011 and, in July 2012, acquired sewer lines from United Water used by several locations, including Great Gorge Village.

In December 2013, the MUA board voted 4-0 to approve a two-year connection deferral for Brookside Florist. According to the meeting minutes, the owners submitted a sewer application, paid a variety of fees and obtained permits before discovering a natural rock ledge that, according to Scerbo, could potentially quadruple their connection cost.

In June 2013, the board approved a five-year “hardship payment plan” for the Mixing Bowl Restaurant to pay its $16,910 connection fee. Scerbo said the restaurant ended up paying the full tab in a year.

Vernon attorney John Williams, providing pro bono representation to the VFW, said the non-profit organization deserves the break.

Williams said the VFW's building, located at 313 Route 94 South, often is used by local groups.

“We're trying to keep them open and allow them to continue to serve the community,” Williams said.

“This little building does a great deal of service,” Williams said.

Mayor Vic Marotta said he arranged a meeting between the MUA and the VFW about a week after Memorial Day, not long after word surfaced that the chapter might seek to sell its building.

Marotta said that “while there were certain laws to follow, certain procedures that we needed to follow,” he “made it clear that Vernon Township was not going to throw the VFW to the wolves.”

“The real credit belongs with the job the MUA did,” Marotta said.

Coloccia countered that “political expediency” was a factor, given the visibility of the VFW.

“As much as I want to help the VFW, there's other things the town can do,” Coloccia said.

MUA board member Roy Tanfield said he understood the potential objections, but believed that aiding the VFW is the right decision.

“We're hopeful this will show that we're responding to the concerns of customers. We're not just making cold-blooded decisions,” said Tanfield, who lives in the sewer district.

Benneyan said Mountain Creek will try to assist the VFW with other steps, including fundraising.